Ornatholigist Accommodation In The King Country:

Bird Watching Around Redwood Lodge:

By world standards New Zealand enjoys a relatively small number of bird species, however, what it lacks in diversity it certainly makes up for in uniqueness.

Approximately 320 species have been seen in New Zealand but many of these were vagrant, i.e. blown in from other places during storms etc. When Native birds were plentiful, many kinds were hunted by New Zealand's early settlers, this together with mass deforestation has reduced the wonderful avian diversity by anything up to 100 species; including 11 (or more) species of Moa, one of which at 3m in height and over 150kg, was the tallest, heaviest flightless land bird in the world.

Despite all of this New Zealand remains remarkable for its large number of unique birds. Approximately 60% of land and water birds and 30% of its sea birds are found nowhere else in the world (they are endemic).

Birds that can be seen in our gardens and grounds:

e = endemic n = native si = self-introduced others = introduced

• tui (e)
• shining cuckoo (n)
• masked Lapwing (si)
• white-faced heron (si)
• grey gerygone (e)
• fantail (e)
• silvereye (si)
• sacred kingfisher (n)
• Australasian harrier (si)
• morepork (n)
• welcome swallow (si)
• California quail
• mallard
• pheasant
• spotted dove
• eastern rosella
• blackbird
• song thrush
• yellow hammer
• chaffinch
• greenfinch
• goldfinch
• house sparrow
• starling
• Indian myna
• Australian magpie
• swamp hen (n)

Local bird watching sites include:

Hamilton - Lake Rotoroa, Lake Ngaroto, Kaimai Range, Waimahora - Rangitoto Station, Oparau marsh and open water, Waitomo Ruakuri Caves, Mapara Wildlife Reserve, Pureora Forest

In addtion to the birds listed for our grounds, native bird watching in these areas can produce:

Australasian coot, bittern,spotless crake, marsh crake, pied stilt, N Z robin (e), tomtit, whitehead (e), NZ falcon (e), kaka (e), kokako (e), fernbird (e), bellbird (e), NZ pigeon (e), long-tailed cuckoo (e), yellow-crowned parakeet (e), rifleman (e), NZ pipit (e), purple swamp hen (pukeko), paradise shelduck, NZ dabchick(e).